The flower which never wilts

The flower in the resin

Months went by and I found excuses to enable Shun to breathe and go out with me! We had continued being the best friends ever and I impatiently waited to grow into an adult and be able to make my own decisions! Then came the final blow! A terrible incident that led to a new turn of events, that was for the worse and I will regret my part in that situation all my life...

The Silvereye company had gone through troubles and losses and it was difficult to manage the company! Grandpa had grown older and weaker and could not care for the business and if this went on then grandpa, our maids, butlers, Mr Blood, Shun and I would end up on the streets. Grandpa and Mr Blood found no other solution than getting me engaged to a close relative so that our business could merge and be saved. It was decided overnight that my partner would be Rann Damyon! Grandpa called me in to explain to me and convince me and I had one night to make up my mind and decide...

Rann was certainly my cousin and childhood friend but I loved Shun! I had to know how Shun felt about me and that would decide my fate! I ran to his room, did not care to knock on the door and just barged in! I was panting, out of breath and anxious! Shun was silently standing by the window and shifted a bit when he saw me enter so suddenly. Closing the door behind me, I walked to him and stood in the middle of the room.
"Milady! Here? At this hour.. anything wrong," his calm voice and his words made me feel an anger and sadness I had never felt before and I just blurted out what I said next. "Would you cut it out! Stop all that formality and for once treat me as before!" What I said was surprising because i said it with so much authority and i was never so demanding! Then I regained my calm and took a deep breath.

"Scarlett, are you okay?" How he called me by my name after so many months brought a nostalgia and sudden beat in my heart.
"I was told to be engaged to Rann. They want me to get married to him later, for the sake of the company...but I love you Shun.." we remained silent for a few minutes then I looked into his eyes, looked at his face, looked at Shun himself and asked in a shaky voice, "Shun, do you love me?" As I asked him, I noticed he had his indifferent face on and was as calm and composed as ever.
I feared his answer...
"No." I met his gaze. He said again, "No. I don't love you Scarlett."
That was the end of it all. I was shattered to pieces and stood there for almost ten minutes. Then when I realized that I had just been rejected and abandoned and that tears were now blurring my vision, I ran away from his room.

Shun was left alone in his room. He walked to the closet, opened the drawer and took out a flower preserved in resin. It was the same Heliotropes Scarlett had given to him that night he was 9 years old... Tears flowed down his cheeks...